Kirk Cousins, the Grifting Quarterback

I simply cannot figure out why teams continue to give Kirk Cousins ungodly amounts of guaranteed money on his contracts. I am going to say upfront today, I am being a hater because Cousins is a football player whom I despise. I have not liked him since he was a college football player. I don't like how religious he is and that he is always spouting his religious rhetoric.  I don't like his anti-vaccine rants. And I hate the way he has culturally appropriated grills and chains. It is disgusting, not funny and looks very bad. So yes, I am a true hater of him. I had to let it be known. But, what is very irksome is all the guaranteed money this mid level NFL starting QB has accumulated over his career.

With this recent contract that the Falcons gave him, 180 million over four years with 100 million guaranteed, he will have made over 400 million just from the contracts he has signed that his agent has procured for him. That is a fleecing of epic proportions. I cannot fathom why he keeps getting these insane contracts. No one else gets this type of money. Players that are far better at football than him don't see 1/3 of what the Vikings and Falcons have shelled out for this glorified game manager. The only reasonable conclusion I can come up with is that he and his agent have some Earth shattering dirt on these teams. I feel like they know something that, if it were to get out, lots of people would get canceled and be in big, big trouble. That is the only thing that makes a lick of sense to me.

What is even more worrying is, he keeps getting these deals but never produces anything of use in the NFL. The most yards he's thrown for in one season is 4,547. That is fine, but not 100 million dollars guaranteed fine. The most TD's he's had in one season, 35. That would rank him near the middle most seasons for starting QB's. His best record as a starter, 13-4 with the Vikings. Seems okay, but when you look at his overall record as a starter, he is 78-70. That is middling at best. His playoff record, what should be of utmost importance when paying someone gobs and gobs of money in the NFL, 1-4. That is horrendous. There are so many QB's that are younger and have as many or more playoff wins than him. Jordan Love has one win already. Baker Mayfield has more playoff wins. Brock Purdy, Jalen Hurts, Dak Prescott, Russell Wilson, Nick Foles, obviously Patrick Mahomes all have more playoff wins than Cousins. Jared Goff has been to a Super Bowl and two NFC title games. Joe Flacco has a Super Bowl. Ryan Tannehill has more playoff wins than Cousins. Guys like CJ Stroud, Trevor Lawrence, Daniel Jones and even Mitch Trubisky have as many playoff wins as good old Kirk Cousins. These are just modern players too. There are so many other former players I could list that have won much more than Kirk Cousins when it counted most, but they have never seemed to get the contracts he has gotten over time. That is criminal.

The final aspect that worries me about this deal for the Falcons, Cousins is coming off a major injury at the age of 35. That is a death knell for most athletes. And Cousins isn't the most athletic guy out there. He never has been. So, giving him all this money, when he has a well known history of clamming up when it matters the most, when he is at or near the end of his career, coming off a massive injury, it seems foolish and negligible. I know the Falcons have higher expectations, but tying those expectations to a 35 year old injured QB with a bad history in major moments seems foolish.

I don't think it will work out for the Falcons. RD is a Vikings fan and I hear a bunch about how it didn't work out for them and how happy he is that Cousins is now gone. I feel like Falcons fans are going to have that same energy this time next year. We will see. But this deal, with this amount of guaranteed money for a middling, back end of his career guy would be very off putting to me if I were a Falcons fan. I guess I'm glad I'm not. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Ranks the 2023 NFL Teams: A Warm RC Cola on a Hot Summer Day Edition

Welcome to day two of my preseason NFL rankings. The teams are getting a bit better, but not much.

At number 28 I have the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts have not had a formidable QB since Andrew Luck shockingly retired a few years back. Jacoby Brissett was the best that they had in that time, and he did lead them to the playoffs, but that is not saying much. I do really like the Anthony Richardson pick. He is big, athletic and has an absolute cannon for an arm. He should definitely start from day one and I believe he will. But he is a rookie QB, and rookie QB's usually start slow. He will have to learn the NFL, but I think he has a bright future ahead. It will need some time to work itself out though. Johnathan Taylor, their best offensive player, has requested a trade and has been sent home from minicamp. That is never good. They need him if they want any chance at the playoffs. I have not heard of any of their receivers or their tight end. Whatever happened to TY Hilton also? Who will be Richardson's top target? These are things that need to be figured out soon, but I don't think it will be soon enough. The o line has some dudes, and they have been good at run blocking. But with Taylor wanting out, who besides Richardson is going to be the benefactor of this line's blocking? That is a mystery as well. The defense is full of unknown guys. I loved Kwity Paye when he was at Michigan, but he is coming off injury. Deforest Buckner had a moment, but that feels like such a long time ago. I have not heard of a single guy in their secondary. That seems to be a running theme for me with the Colts, and I bet a bunch of other people would agree. I love the Richardson pick, and think it will pan out in the future, but that will not lead to many wins this season. They need time.

At number 27 I have the Chicago Bears. It feels like the Bears are a year or two away from being in my top 10 though. I think Justin Fields is awesome. He can run and sling it. He needs to throw more, but that will come as he plays more and more. But the dude is their guy and they need to keep him around. Running back is iffy here, but with Fields they get the best of both worlds. I love the DJ Moore pick up, and it has looked good in the preseason. Chase Claypool, when healthy, is a solid wideout. Cole Kmet is a decent tight end. The o line is good enough. The offense is in good hands. What hurts the Bears is their defense. They cannot stop anyone. They give up big plays and the offense has to perennially play from behind. They have some names, like Yannick Ngakoue and Tremaine Edmunds, but they feel far past their prime. Jaylon Johnson can be a solid corner, but he needs work. They don't have the players to stop teams. They are the opposite of the Buccaneers. They will score, but they will not stop anyone. Once they shore the d up, watch out though.

At number 27 I have the Atlanta Falcons. I am lower on them than other writers I have seen. I do not have the most faith in Desmond Ridder. He has won everywhere he has played, but that was due to the defense and some playmakers around him. A lot of people are super high on Bijan Robinson, and while I think he will be good, I do not think he is going to be the world beater that some expect. Once teams start to gameplan for him it will be tough. He is going to be facing a ton of eight man fronts, and he is not built like Saquon Barkley yet. I do not think he is ready to handle that type of load as a rookie. Kyle Pitts keeps getting pumped up, but this seems to happen every year since he was drafted, and maybe he is who he will be for his career. Drake London is a fine receiver, but I don't think he strikes fear in opposing secondaries. And the o line is very blah. The defense is very blah as well. Calais Campbell has not been a backfield wrecker for a while now. Bud Dupree, who I loved coming out of college, has not figured it out. Jeff Okudah was told to not let the door hit him on his way out of Detroit. Grady Jarrett doesn't jump off the page for me. The defense doesn't strike me as being very good. Their best feature is the division, and Robinson. But I think they will have a tougher time trying to win enough games to make a playoff push.

My final team for the day, at LA Rams. They were my number one team last year. They have truly fallen off. Matt Stafford is back. Who cares? He seems to have phoned it in after winning a ring. I don't know who the running back is going to be. ESPN's website has Cam Akers, but I thought he was on the Raiders. Cooper Kupp seems like a Wes Welker type, but with less success. And I have no clue who Van Jefferson or Ben Skoworonek are. Tyler Higbee gets hurt far too often. And the o line is old and getting older. The defense, outside of Aaron Donald, is full of unknowns. I truly could not tell you one thing about the names of the starters I see on ESPN. This team had Von Miller a few years back. They had one of the best linebacking corps in the league. Jalen Ramsey patrolled their secondary. All those guys are gone and replaced by players like Christian Rozeboom, Ernest Jones, Jordan Fuller and Russ Yeast. Who even are those guys? Jordan Fuller is the only name that sounds vaguely familiar. The Rams are not great, but at least they got their ring I guess. But right now, going into 2023, they are not very good.

That does it for day two. Come back for day three tomorrow. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty’s 2022 NFL Preview - Warm Natural Light Division

The next two weeks are going to be football focused. I'm going to be counting down the NFL teams from worst to best. Then I will make postseason predictions and awards. Then, next Friday I will do my massive college football preview. This is one of my favorite times of year because it means football is right around the corner. So sit back and enjoy some football talk for the next few weeks. On to the countdown.

Coming in dead last I have the Houston Texans. I like Lovie Smith. But that hire was out of nowhere. I love Nico Collins. But he is only in year two and he still needs time to develop. Davis Mills was a nice surprise last season. But defenses will be ready for him. There will be no more surprises. Derek Stingley has potential. I was so high on John Metchie, and I know he will beat cancer. But that is devastating for him. I hope he gets better soon. Outside those guys this team is very, very mediocre. Marlon Mack is washed, as is Brandin Cooks. Pharaoh Brown is out of position at tight end. The O line is not great. The defense is full of youth and no name guys. Jerry Hughes used to be good, but when that is your best signing, that is a bad, bad sign. This team is in full rebuild mode and they will be for sometime. I hope they give Lovie Smith time to turn it around, but they probably won't and that stinks. I assume they will win 2 to 4 games, at best this year. They will be in the hunt for one of the top QB's in the 2023 draft. The Texans are not a good football team.

At number 31 I have the Atlanta Falcons. This team has really fallen off since they blew a 25 point lead in the Super Bowl however many years ago that was. Matt Ryan is gone. Julio Jones is gone. Todd Gurley didn't work out. They fired the coach who led them to the Super Bowl. This team is still rebuilding. They signed Marcus Mariota and drafted Desmond Ridder. I was way off on Mariota. He has not been good. I would not be surprised if Ridder, who I really like, starts at some point this season. They have a receiver starting at running back. Cordarelle Patterson is fine, but he is not an every down back. I think Drake London will be good when the Falcons get a competent QB. Same with Kyle Pitts, who has the ability to be one of the better tight ends in the league. The O line is mediocre. The Falcons defense is a lot like the Texans. I do not know who most of these dudes are on the roster. I recognize Casey Hayward. He is an okay corner. As is AJ Terrell. But the dudes on the D line and the linebackers, I am drawing a total blank. They got scored on a ton last season, and I see much of the same this year. The Falcons will win 3-5 games this season and they will be picking early in the 2023 draft.

At number 30 I have the Chicago Bears. It is no secret that I despise this team. I have never liked the Bears. I think they are overrated. Every year they look like they are going to take a leap and then they fall flat on their faces. I do like Justin Fields, I think he can be very, very good, but this team has absolutely no weapons for him at all. Fields has all the tools in the world to be great, but he needs solid teammates. Every single receiver is hurt. N'Keal Harry is out for the year. Byron Pringle is hurt. So is Cole Kmet. I mean, they have no solid wideouts on this roster. David Montgomery is an okay running back, but he is not someone the offense can lean on. The O line is bad and riddled with injury as well. And the defense is not much better. Khalil Mack has been traded. Robert Quinn wants out. So does Roquan Smith. He just asked for a trade and I believe he is holding out of camp. From there it is rough. This is a roster full of has beens or never was guys. It is going to be a tough year in Chicago and Justin Fields is going to bear the brunt of it. This team is in the bottom of the league. They will win maybe 3 games all year. Fields needs weapons and maybe they will draft someone in the next year's draft with the high pick they will have. We will see.

The final team for the day, coming in at 29 I have the New York Giants. They have a new coach. They have a new GM. They have what looks to be a direction they are settled on. But they just don't have the talent yet, or the team is way too young. Daniel Jones is a bust. He doesn't have it. It is more than apparent that they need to move on. As much as I root for Saquon Barkley, he just looks timid and not fully healed. He doesn't look the same as he did before tearing his ACL. I like Wan'Dale Robinson, but he is a rookie. Kadarius Toney may be asking for a trade. Kenny Golladay had one good year and that was it. The O line is not good, but they got a guy that looks like he could be awesome in Evan Neal. They should build the line around him. The defense is also not great. I absolutely love the Kayvon Thibodeaux pick, but much like Robinson, he is a rookie too. Leonard Williams is oft injured. Blake Martinez is not great anymore. Adoree Jackson is on his second team in not so many seasons. I mean, the defense, outside of Thibodeaux, is not very good. The Giants are on the verge of yet another 5 win season and their fans will be losing their minds. I do think the team is going in a better direction, but they need a new QB, to build the D around Thibodeaux and get Evan Neal some help on the O line. Then they will win some games. But this year is not even close to their year.

That is it for today. Come back tomorrow for the next four teams. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.  

Ty Ranks the 2021 NFL Teams - Better Luck Next Year Division

Welcome to day 2 of my NFL countdown. Let's get right to it.

At number 28 I have the New York Jets. This team has not seemed to figure it out yet. They continue to make bad decisions in the front office and at the draft. They let guys go or guys ask to leave. They do not want to stay there too long. I do like the hiring of Robert Saleh, and if given the time, I think he can turn it around. Just not this year. The issues at QB have not been addressed, even with them taking Zach Wilson second overall. I do like that they are going to let him play through the rough stuff, but there is going to be a lot of rough stuff this year. He is not ready, but he will get the playing time. Tevin Coleman was good about three years ago, but with the Jets, he is their best option at running back. They let their best receiver walk, and now they are left with guys that have not shown they can be consistent. The O line is very blah, but it will not matter much because this team doesn't have the skill guys to do much with the ball. I do think the defense will be better because that is Salah's calling card. They do not have many guys, but they do have CJ Mosley, Byrce Hall and Quinnen Williams. Those are solid building blocks at all three levels of the defense. The rest of the guys are so so, but Saleh will coach them the hell up. They will be better on that side of the ball than they have been in awhile. In the end, the Jets have no offense, but a defense that will help them hang around and maybe even win three or four games. Give Saleh time though and the Jets could be a playoff team in three years.

At number 27 I have the Chicago Bears. The Bears finally moved on from Trubisky, and I love the Justin Fields pick, they just do not have much else. The Bears have needed to rebuild for years now, and they look like they may be on their way to doing just that. Also, Fields should be the starter. This whole Nick Foles and Andy Dalton dance is the dumbest thing I have seen. They need to give the keys to Fields and let him ride. He is the future at QB. Running back is not great with Tarik Cohen being hurt and having David Montgomery as their starter. He's fine, he ran for 1,000 yards last season, but I do not see a repeat of that this year. They were able to re-sign Allen Robinson, which will help Fields, but the rest of the receivers are not great. They also need better tight ends, especially if they are going to be a play action team. The O line is fine, but not great. The defense is not what it was two years ago, but they do still have Khalil Mack. That dude is awesome. He is probably the best linebacker in the NFL. He just doesn't have much help. Danny Trevathan is always hurt. Akiem Hicks hasn't really panned out. Roquan Smith needs to stay healthy. Tashaun Gipson is not great. They just are not at that elite level anymore. They seem to have fallen off a bit. The Bears are not the playoff contender they were two and three years ago, but they have done the right thing moving on from Trubisky. Now they have to let Fields run the damn thing. It won't equate to many wins, but it would be a step in the right direction.

At number 26 I have the Denver Broncos. This is another team that had an elite defense, a Super Bowl winning defense, but the offense is really, really bad. They should be starting Teddy Bridgewater. He more than deserves that role. He has come back from a gruesome injury and seems to be as good as he looked at times with Minnesota. Starting Drew Lock would be a major mistake. They need to move on from him now. He is not the answer, clearly. They let Phillip Lindsay walk and they are going with Melvin Gordon. Gordon was great at times with the Chargers, but he has not been the same with Denver. He bet on himself, which I have mad respect for, but it has not paid off. I like Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler as a wideout duo, but Hamler has yet to put it together and Jeudy is a rookie. Courtland Sutton seems to be a one season wonder too. The O line is fine, but again, not elite. They should let Bridgewater start, but we will see where they go from here. The defense is solid, but as we saw last season, when they spend all game on the field, it is rough for them. Von Miller is awesome, an all timer, a hall of fame player. He is legit. I also really like Bradley Chubb. He has more than lived up to the hype. Kyle Fuller is a solid defensive back. And Ronald Darby can play. But they spend way, way too much time on the field. They cannot win many games that way. I saw that with Michigan football two of the past four seasons. It is not a recipe for success. The Broncos could win five or six games with Bridgewater, but if they go with Drew Lock, it is more like three or four wins.

The final team for today, coming in at number 25, I have the Atlanta Falcons. First things first, my hat goes off to the Falcons for being the first team to be 100 percent vaccinated. That rules. I think that is great. They did the right thing as an organization, and they will reap the rewards. This is a big win for them. For the on field play, that is going to suffer. Matt Ryan is still the QB. He was good, an MVP a few years back, but he has been on a downward trajectory for the past three seasons. He just hasn't found the magic from his MVP year. I thought they were going to draft a QB, but they didn't, and now they have Ryan, AJ Mccarron and Feliepe Franks. That is not great. Todd Gurley did not have a great year, and they let him walk. That bums me out. I thought he could turn it around. They now have Mike Davis, and while he is a great fantasy player because he bowls guys over the TD's on the goal line, I do not know if he has the ability to be a full time starter. He is good though. They traded Julio Jones and that is a big blow to their offense. He was that guy that could go and make something out of nothing. Calvin Ridley is fast, and that is it. Their other receivers, I have never heard of. They drafted Kyle Pitts number six overall, and if you go back to my draft preview, I think he was very overhyped. He is very tall and physical, but he is also a rookie. There will be a big time learning curve. The O line is fine. The Falcons have struggled mightily on defense ever since their Super Bowl run. There is no one that stands out. Maybe Dante Fowler will find his groove, but he hasn't yet. Maybe he is what he is as an NFL player already. The secondary is filled with questions, the linebackers are blah and the D line looks like it will give up tons of big running plays. The Falcons had the chance to be a perennial playoff power, but since blowing that lead to the Patriots, they have never recovered. The team is past its prime. Again, I love love love that they are all fully vaccinated, and they should be rewarded for that. But this team will not win more than five games this season.

Come back tomorrow for the next four teams. We are getting to the better teams soon.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Trying to Make Sense of the Julio Jones Trade

Julio Jones has been traded. He is a Tennessee Titan, and they acquired him for, in my opinion, a very small price. I think all the Falcons got was three total draft picks, none of which are a first rounder. I’m surprised that the Falcons pulled the trigger on such a small offer, but here we are. I guess he really wanted out, some other teams were offering even less and Atlanta was okay letting him go. He’s one of the best receivers in the league, he’s mostly durable and he can stretch a defense.

Yet this trade, on every level, flat out confuses me. As I said, Jones is a top three wideout in the league. Any team that got him would be an instant contender for me. But I do not like the fit in Tennessee. Yes the Titans are an established playoff team, they were in the AFC title game two seasons ago and they have some solid weapons. But this team wins with defense and running. They’re a very good defensive team. They play so solid on that side of the ball. They don’t make too many mental mistakes and they pounce on opportunities. On offense the team goes as Derrick Henry goes, and rightfully so. He is probably the best running back in the league right now. He may go for 2,000 yards this upcoming season. He is very, very good. He’s the heart and soul of the Titans offense. Jones also said he wanted to go to a team with a “big armed quarterback”. Ryan Tannehill is a fine game manager, but I would say he has a “big arm”. I know the Dolphins tried this route with him and it didn’t work. Then he came to Tennessee to backup Marcus Mariota, and fell into the starting QB due to poor play and injury. But Tennessee has never relied on Tannehill to win games. They go with defense and running. They like to control the tempo of the game. They want to slow everything to a grinding halt. That’s not what Julio Jones wants to do. He is a big play guy. He wants to get the ball and move. He wants to out jump corners for touchdowns. He is super fast and super skilled in the open field. Jones is a prototypical modern receiver. And while the Titans have another solid receiver in AJ Brown, they still don’t really stretch the field or go very fast.

I personally think Jones would’ve been better off going to a team like the Rams. They got Matthew Stafford, and even though he’s oft injured, he can chuck it. Sean McVay would also put Jones in position to fully utilize his skill. I think pairing him with Lamar Jackson in Baltimore would’ve put the Ravens over the top. I fully believe that would’ve put them very close to the Chiefs. If my team, the Packers, had made a play for him, maybe Aaron Rodgers would’ve reported to camp right now. And Jones and Davante Adams would’ve been a highly impressive duo. I’m sure there’s other teams I’m missing, but Tennessee just seems like not a great fit for Jones and the Titans.

As for Atlanta, I’m still scratching my head at how little they got for one of the best at his position in the game right now. The Rams and Lions traded picks and QB’s. If the Packers do trade Rodgers, I’m sure they’ll get a kings ransom that includes picks and players. Big time O lineman go for better picks than what the Falcons got for Jones. It just feels, to me, that Atlanta jumped the gun. They took an offer they liked before vetting other teams. They got nothing of real substance for an established player. Who knows what these picks will turn into, but Torrey Smith said it best. He tweeted that he’d rather have an established star than picks that may or may not pan out. He’s right. I fully agree with him. The fact that Atlanta chose Matt Ryan over Julio Jones tells me they don’t care about winning right now. They simply didn’t want to pay to get a better QB to pair with Jones, Kyle Pitts and a running back by committee. Matt Ryan’s best days are well behind him. Julio Jones still has a few years left in his prime.

This trade just seems hastily slapped together. I think all parties involved could’ve gotten a better deal. I hope I’m proven wrong because I really enjoy watching Julio Jones play football. But going to the Titans feels more like a lateral move. We will see.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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Ty Ranks the 2019 NFL Teams: Anchovies on Pizza Division

Kicking off day 5 of my 2019 NFL countdown I have the first team that I think will make the playoffs. You may read that and think, this team is ranked too low for the playoffs. I don't do my countdown like that, I simply rank the teams how I see them, and even though the Baltimore Ravens, my number 16 team, may be on the outside according to placement, I think they are the best team in their division, thus earning them a playoff spot.

The Ravens are a solid football team with a Super Bowl winning coach. I think John Harbaugh has earned carte blanche there, and this team is a solid bet to win their division. I love that they let Joe Flacco go, and have turned over the offense to Lamar Jackson. I think he has the potential to be Mike Vick esque. He needs to become a better passer, but the guy is electric, young and fast. He is one of the younger QB's that I actually like to watch play. He is fun. They have a pretty solid o line too. They need some better receivers, and a good ground game outside of Jackson would be nice. But this team wins with defense. And while Terrell Suggs is gone, they got Earl Thomas this offseason. I know he is coming off a broken leg, but Thomas is a modern day Ed Reed. Well, he might not be as skilled as Reed, but he is a hard hitting, ball hawking safety. He is also out to prove something this season. The fact that Baltimore got him to sigh with them is the main reason I thin they are a playoff team. They have a solid defense around Thomas as well. With Thomas, and an emerging Jackson, I think Baltimore is set up nicely for the future. I see them, fairly easily, getting to 10 wins and being a tough out in the playoffs. This team got better by letting Flacco go, and they improved their defense even with Suggs heading out.

At number 15 I have the Seattle Seahawks. Look, I have made no bones about how much I dislike this team. I'm usually a fan of Seattle pro sports teams, but the Seahawks just rub me the wrong way. First off, I loathe Pete Carroll. He is the sleazy car salesman of the NFL. He lies, cheats and blames everyone else. Yeah he won a Super Bowl, but so did Brian Billick. Carroll is a scumbag. Just ask Earl Thomas. I am also not a fan of Russell Wilson. I think he is a prima donna, who without a great defense, would have zero Super Bowl rings. The interception in the Patriots Super Bowl is more what I tend to think of when thinking about Wilson's NFL career. He is a magician behind the line, and puts up numbers, but I think that is more luck than skill. And that o line, what a joke. They are awful. They cannot block a single person. They stink. The Seahawks also have no run game. I think they went through about 6 backs last year. Their best receiver is Tyler Lockett, and while he is a burner, I think he might be 5 feet tall. But this is what happens when you give your QB all the money he wants. They can't get any skill around him. They used to be elite on defense too. Now, they only have Bobby Wagner. And while he is wonderful, every other premiere defender they had is gone because they either hated Carroll or Wilson. This team has to have the worst locker room in the league. But, they do find ways to improbably win games, and they just may win 9 or 10 again. But, for the time being, I see them regressing because of the o line and no rum game, to being an 8 win team.

At number 14 I have the Atlanta Falcons. They are just 2 years removed from a Super Bowl, and they have fallen pretty hard. For one, their defense is atrocious. They cannot stop anyone. I think a year ago they gave up 50 to the Giants, a team that hasn't averaged 20 points in a couple of years. They seemingly give up 28-35 points a game, and they always have to play catch up. On offense, I feel like Matt Ryan is a rich man's Andy Dalton. He is a better QB, and has gone farther, but what has he really done in the league. Sure, he has an MVP, but I put that more on the offense and Julio Jones. I adore Julio Jones. He is one of the best in the game. He is big, strong, fast, runs great routes and catches pretty much everything thrown his way. He just cannot seem to find the end zone. He always goes over 100 receptions, and well over 1,000 yards, but only has like 5 or 6 TD's. That needs to change. I still think the offense is going to be explosive, at least this season, but they didn't do much to shore up the defense. And Matt Ryan is only getting older. I think Falcons games will be fun, high scoring affairs, but I don't know how many of those games they can win. Maybe 8 or 9, but I tend to lean more towards 7. I wish Julio Jones was on a better team with a better QB. He deserves that.

My final team for the day, at number 13, I have the Carolina Panthers. This team is due for a turnaround. After last season, I think they will shake off the cobwebs, and be the Saints biggest problem in that division. I love Cam Newton, and I feel like he will return to his MVP form. He is too good, and too competitive, to have another down year. I know he is coming off surgery, but that guy is a player, and he will work it out on the field. Christian McCaffery really blew up last season, and I see him growing and growing into an even better player and weapon for this team. The o line got better, and they will need to protect Newton this year. I would like them to have better wideouts, but Cam has won with worse. And Greg Olsen is still there, and he was a key cog in my fantasy title last year. The defense is still solid enough to keep them afloat, although I am terrified that Luke Kuechly is going to die on the field before he realizes he has had too many concussions. The Panthers, while they may not get back to being the 15-1 team they were a few years ago, will be back to being a real problem for opponents this year. I could see them winning 11 games and challenging New Orleans all season long.

That's it for today. Come back on Monday for the next 4 teams. We are oh so close to Super Bowl contenders now.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He has not always hated the Seahaks. He was a big fan when they had, oh what’s that one guy’s name who used to be a quarterback? You who I’m talking about, he could throw the ball far? Anyone?

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Ty Ranks the 2018 NFL Teams: The First Pumpkin Spice Latte of the Season

Day 7 of my NFL preseason preview is starting to feature the best of the best. These teams are all playoff teams. These teams all have All Pro players. These teams all have solid coaching staffs, save the Packers, that are capable of leading the team to the title. They all have legit shots at the Super Bowl.

Lets get to it.

At number 8 I have the Atlanta Falcons. Yes, they took a step back last year. Yes, they blew a 25 point lead in the Super Bowl 2 years ago. Yes, they have some issues that they need to settle with Julio Jones. But, this team is good. They have a very solid QB in Matt Ryan. He is accurate, good in the pocket and throws for tons of yards and TD's. Matt Ryan is a good NFL QB. Hell, he won the MVP 2 years ago. He can play. He is also good in clutch moments. I like their running game. Tevin Coleman is a solid back that can kind of do a bit of everything. Devonta Freeman is a very solid number one running back. They have a great 2 headed monster. As mentioned, they have to get Julio Jones signed, and when they do, they are set at receiver. Jones is right up there with guys like Antonio Brown and Deandre Hopkins for me, and a whole lot of other people. I also love that they were able to draft Calvin Ridley. I feel like Ridley is going to be a great compliment to Jones. They also have Mohammed Sanu, and that dude is good. They are stacked at receiver. The Falcons defense is a bit suspect, but they were better last year. They can stop the run, but they struggle with the pass. They need to get a little better in the secondary, and I'd like for them to shore up their linebacker corps. But, they play just good enough to keep this team in the top ten. I also like the staff, with one exception. Steve Sarkisian shouldn't be an NFL play caller. Hell, he shouldn't be a college play caller. He is not very good at his job. But, the talent supersedes how bad of a play caller he truly is. The Falcons are good. They are a 10 win team easily. They will be in the playoffs.

At number 7 I have the New Orleans Saints. I was very low on them last year and they totally surprised me. They played very good football last year. They found a run game. They found a defense. And Drew Brees went out there and found another guy to turn into a star receiver. Michael Thomas, as much as it pains me to say this, is a legit top wide receiver threat. He is so good down the field and over the middle. He is awesome. Drew Brees has found another guy. Also, Drew Brees is still awesome at his advanced age. He is still a 4,500 yard passer, with a 70 percent completion rate and throws for 25 plus TD's every year. He is one of the best. What will make his career even longer is their newfound run game. Mark Ingram, who will miss the first 4 games after being suspended, played much better last year. He played like the bruising back that we all thought he would be coming out of Alabama. And they found another diamond in the rough in Alvin Kamara. He is the new Marshall Faulk. He is explosive out of the back field. He finds yards were there are no yards. He is excellent at catching balls out of the back field. Kamara is awesome and he will only get better and better. What was even more shocking was the Saints defense last year. They actually stepped up and held teams down. The Saints no longer have to score 40 or 50 points to win a game. They can play fast and slow now because the defense is that good. They can actually stop people. I don't know how Sean Payton did it, probably ridding himself of Rob Ryan, but he now has a defense that will help the offense. The Saints are good and will be a playoff threat as long as Kamara stays healthy. They are easily a 11-12 win team.

At number 6 I have the Green Bay Packers. As you may have saw at the top, I listed the Packers main weakness is coaching. Mike McCarthy is awful. I'm not super stoked about the Mike Pettine and Joe Philbin hires. I hope it works, but I am not optimistic about it. But, the Packers do get Aaron Rodgers back, and he is healthy. Rodgers is one of, if not the, best QB's in football. He is great on the run and in the pocket, has a laser arm and leads this team like no other. He is who they turn to when they are in trouble and need a play. He is the man in Green Bay. They let Jordy Nelson go, and I do not understand the outcry over this. He was always injured and it was becoming a problem. I know he was reliable, but he always missed time. The same can be said for Randall Cobb, but he is so much more explosive than Nelson. I would much rather have Cobb than Nelson right now in their careers. Cobb can also run trick plays. I also love Davante Adams. This is his year to become the number one receiver. He has all the tools, and I think he can have a great season. I also like Geronimo Alison. He has a chance to really make a name for himself. Also, the Packers went out and got Jimmy Graham. I know it doesn't hold the weight in may have 4 years ago, but I like it. I think Graham likes it too. He will be used properly in Green Bay. He could become the end zone threat that he was in New Orleans once again. The Packers need a better run game. I love that Ty Montgomery was willing to shift positions, and while he is an okay back, he is a receiver. That is where he should be. They have a bunch of young dudes, so maybe one of them will step up. But, the run game needs to get better. The Packers defense needs to get better too. They can get much better much faster if they somehow pull off a trade for Khalil Mack. I would jump for joy if this happens. I'm hoping it happens. They need a guy like Mack because they don't have much else. They are a poor pass rushing and run stopping team. They cannot set an edge, and linebackers overrun plays far too much. I do like the secondary, especially Tramon Williams, but they give up too many big plays. This Packers team reminds me of the Saints team when they had no defense. They will win double digit games if Rodgers stays healthy, but they will give up lots of points in doing so. The Packers will return to the payoffs though. Mark it down.

My final team for the day, at number 5, is the Jacksonville Jaguars. I think people are sleeping on a team that was 10 minutes away from playing in the Super Bowl last year. The Jaguars defense is, maybe, the best in the league. They are so young too. They will continue to dominate on that side of the ball, if they can keep most of these guys, for half a decade easily. I mean, Jalen Ramsey, AJ Bouye, Calais Campbell, Myles Jack and Barry Church are all awesome. They are all pro bowlers. They are all top 3 in the league at their positions. They are so, so, so good on that side of the ball. They can stop pretty much any team. They got screwed by the refs in the AFC title game last year, and they still held a league due to this defense. They are elite. The offense, on the other hand, is very bland. Blake Bortles is awful. They need to let it go. I know he was the QB in their run last year, but he is one of the worst starters in the league. Hell, he would have been one of the worst backups. He stinks. They do have a good O line though. They also have a great, young running back in Leonard Fournette. He is big, strong and fast. He needs to be more durable, but damnit, the kid can run the hell out of the football. I also like TJ Yeldon. He is a great change of pace back. The receivers unfortunately have Bortles throwing them the ball. Keelan Cole, Dede Westbrook and Marqise Lee are all good, but they need a better QB throwing them the ball. The Jaguars are going to be a top team once again, and it is all due to the defense and run game. They need to lean on those 2 phases of the game. I do not think a return trip to the AFC title game is out of the question. I like the Jags so much, and it is solely due to their defense.

That is it for today. Come back tomorrow for the top 4 teams.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He does not know the value of Bloke Bortles in a late season fantasy football run. The head editor used Bortles, and his 9 points per game, to eek out a championship last year.

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It Was an Almost Perfect Weekend of NFL Playoff Football

This past weekend of the NFL playoffs was pretty wild. Well, 3 of the 4 games were wild. Lets get the boring one out of the way first.

The Patriots throttled the Titans. I had a slight glimmer of hope that the Titans would make it a game when they went up 7-0 late in the first quarter. But, the Patriots, and almost more importantly, the refs, made that null and void pretty quick. Mariota regressed pretty quick after the first quarter. The Titans defense could not stop the Patriots offense. Making the Titans play from behind is how you beat them handily. And, as I said, the refs were atrocious. It seemed like anytime that the Titans would get a stop, a first down or even grab some momentum, the refs stepped in and gave it all back to the Patriots. When the score was 7-7 and the Titans were driving again, Eric Decker got called for an absolutely terrible offensive interference to kill the drive. Then, after stopping the Patriots deep in their territory, and forcing them to punt, a phantom offside call was made when it was clear that the Patriots jumped first. This resulted in another Patriots TD. Finally, on a fourth and one play, the Patriots tackled Derrick Henry by his facemask, but nothing was called. No flags, nothing. It was horrendous.

The other three games on Saturday and Sunday would not let the horrific mismatch and terrible reffing spoil some great games. Truth be told, I did not watch a second of Eagles-Falcons, I was at the movies watching the new "Star Wars" with my son. But, I caught up on the highlights, and that was some tremendous defense played by the Eagles. With that being said, Steve Sarkisian proved to be a terrible play caller, especially when they had four chances from the 9 yard line to win the game. But, the Eagles suffocated and stifled the Falcons offense all game. They did not give Tevin Coleman or Devonta Freeman any space to run the ball. The Falcons defense played good too, but they let Nick Foles do just enough to get the win. Matt Ryan also reverted to his poor decision making late in crucial moments. I fully thought that the Falcons were going to win, especially after how they manhandled the Rams, but the Eagles would not let it happen. While they didn't do much on offense, they did enough. And their defense was awesome. They deserved to win, and they earned it too.

The most surprising game for me was Pittsburgh-Jacksonville. I did not see any of the first half of this game, I was at a birthday party. But I would periodically check my phone to see the score. Every time I checked it, it seemed that the Jags scored another TD. When I first checked it was 14-0 early in the second quarter. About 15 minutes passed, I checked again, and it was 21-7. Then we left the party and I saw it was 28-14 at the half. I assumed that when we returned home and I turned on the game that the Steelers would have tied it or taken the lead. Well, they cut it to 7 in the third, but they never grabbed the lead. When it was 28-21, I figured this was where the Steelers would wake up and grab a stranglehold on the game. Well, the Jags immediately took the ball all the way down the field and Leonard Fournette ran in his third TD of the game. This was when I started to think that maybe the Jags were going to win this game. But, not to be denied, the Steelers had another miracle TD on a fourth and three play. Roethsliberger heaved the ball in the air and a very injured Antonio Brown made a great, great catch for a TD. They cut it to 7 again. I started to go back around to thinking that the Steelers were going to win. But again, the Jags got the ball, god help me, Blake Bortles made some plays, and they scored on an easy pass to a wide open fullback to get a 14 point lead again. I was amazed at how well the Jags looked on offense, but also how poorly the Steelers were playing defense. The Steelers still wouldn't go away, getting back to within 7.  But, to attempt an onside kick with 2 timeouts and 2 minutes and 18 seconds left in the game at home, was simply stupid. That was a horrific choice by all the coaches involved on the Steelers. This gave the Jags great field position and set them up for the easy 2 score lead again. The Steelers blew this game, they were definitely looking ahead to the Patriots, but props to the Jags for going into Pittsburgh twice this season and winning both times.

The game of the weekend, the playoffs and maybe in the past 5 or 6 years, was the Saints-Vikings game. This was, to use a cliché, a tale of 2 halves. The Vikings owned the first 2 quarters. They stopped everything the Saints wanted to do, and they moved the ball at will. They looked like they were going to win with ease, especially when they had a 17-0 lead at halftime. But, credit to the Saints for making adjustments and turning this into a game. Drew Brees was making some great, great throws in the second half. His pass to Alvin Kamara was amazing. Kamara was also amazing in the second half. He is going to be a star. Michael Thomas started to get much more involved. He now is in that conversation of second best wide out in the league, behind only Antonio Brown. The Saints defense also started to make plays. When they took the lead at 21-20, I thought the Vikings were in for another heartbreak in the postseason. But, to their credit they kept plugging away. They got the ball back, marched into field goal range and kicked the go ahead field goal with just over 2 minutes left. That was more than enough time for Brees to lead the Saints down into field goal range to kick and take the lead very late in the game. The Vikings got the ball back with about 40 seconds left, and one timeout, but I figured they were toast. I mean, one timeout, Case Keenum, Vikings postseason history, no real deep threats, everything was stacked against them. And that was how this final drive started. They had one chunk play, but they had to burn their last timeout, and they were so far out of field goal range and hail mary range, I didn't think it mattered. And the next 2 plays made me feel this even stronger. Keenum was throwing ducks and getting pressured. Everything pointed to another blown playoff game. Then third down happened. With less than 10 seconds left the Vikings snapped the ball, and a sports miracle happened. Keenum bought just enough time in the pocket and just chucked the ball in the air. Out of nowhere Stefon Diggs, who it looked like jumped about 20 feet in the air, snagged the ball and turned up field. The Saints safety, poor, poor Marcus Williams, went in for the hit, but he completely missed Diggs. This was the worst attempted tackle I have seen at any level. Williams, who had a great rookie year, and had played very well in the game up until this point, just completely whiffed. His head was down and I think he just assumed that he was going to run into Diggs. That didn't happen, and now there are about a thousand GIF's and meme's "commemorating" this missed tackled. After Diggs realized he wasn't going to get hit, he turned up the field and ran. I kept yelling, the Vikings bench too, "GET OUT OF BOUNDS!", thinking that the Saints had another safety deep. But, much to mine, and everyone else's surprise, there was no one there. Diggs could have waltzed into the end zone if he wanted. It was a truly amazing sports moments. It is one of the best endings to a game that I have ever seen. I could not believe that the Vikings won a game in this fashion. It was such an amazing ending. I'm still kind of in shock how that game ended.

This was, at least 3/4 of it was, a very great football weekend. It was fun to see the NFL be fun at least one time this year. I don't think it matters in the long run though. I still think we will get Patriots-Vikings in the Super Bowl, and I still think the Patriots will win. But, this past weekend made it fun to be an NFL fan for a couple days. Hopefully the conference championships will be half as good as this past weekend was. We will have to wait and see.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is used to seeing Green Bay and Aaron Rodgers pull out last second miracle wins. This year's Rodgers is Case Keenum and the Packers have become the Vikings. 

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Ty Ranks the 2017 NFL Teams: The "Rogue One Final Scene" Edition

We are now on day 7 of my 2017 NFL countdown. There are only 2 days left worth of teams. This is the best of the best. These are teams that have few flaws and could really make some noise in the postseason. These teams all have something great going for them, and if any one of them makes it to the Super Bowl I would not be shocked. Lets go.

At number 8 I have the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This team is loaded on offense. They are really, really lethal. A lot of people have been comparing them to the Raiders, a la, a team that makes a very big jump this year. I see that, but I see a lot more of the Falcons in this team. As I already stated, they are lethal offensively. Jameis Winston, for as much as I may not like him, he is turning into a very, very good NFL QB. He is using his arm more, he is becoming a leader, and he is just having fun out there. As long as he can cut down on the turnovers, which I think he will, he is going to jump into that upper echelon of NFL QB's. He is really, really good. They have some of the best wide outs for Winston to throw to also. Mike Evans is amazing. He is tall, fast, can get separation and has excellent hands. The guy is un-guardable at times. He is the Bucs version of Julio Jones. They also went out and signed Desean Jackson this offseason. That was one of the better additions that I have seen in awhile. He is going to stretch the field for the Bucs, and he will also make it nearly impossible to double Evans. Jackson was a tremendous pickup. They also drafted OJ Howard late in the first round, and he was great in college. Go watch last year's title game and he was one of the best players on a field filled with great players. That was a hell of a pick. Doug Martin started to look like the Doug Martin from 2 years ago at the end of last year. If he can be 80 percent of that guy, that will open up things even more for this offense. They also have Jacquizz Rodgers, and he is an excellent change of pace back. The O-Line is legit too. The Bucs also have a decent, albeit inexperienced defense. I love Gerald McCoy. He is a tremendous run stopper and pass rusher. He is also the only reason to watch "Hard Knocks" too. He is great. Vernon Hargreaves can become a decent NFL corner. I know Brent Grimes got a slight injury in preseason, but he will be fine for the start of the year, and he is a solid veteran. Noah Spence has gotten better every year in the league, and now he looks like a legit pass rush specialist. Lavonte David is a solid linebacker. This team is pretty good everywhere, with the exception being the kicking game. The fact that I have to mention it should cause concern. They cut Roberto Aguayo, the guy they moved up to pick in the second round last year, and his replacement, Nick Folk, has not looked consistent at all. That could cost them a game or 2, and that would be brutal. I like this Bucs team, but they need to shore up that kicking game to be a real threat.

At number 7 I have the New York Giants. Odell Beckham Jr is a headache, but he is so talented, he is worth the headache. I know he had a scare in a recent preseason game due to a very dirty hit, but he is going to be okay. He is one of the top 3 or 4 receivers in the league. He is so good with the ball in his hands, and he makes some of the most amazing catches ever. Beckham is great. They also signed Brandon Marshall. I love this almost as much as the Jackson to the Bucs deal. Marshall is as solid as they come, and he will make it impossible for team to double him and Beckham. This was a very good move by both parties. Hell, even Sterling Shepard showed flashes last year. This receiving corps is good. They unfortunately have Eli Manning throwing the ball to them. Yes, he was the QB of 2 Super Bowl champs, but if this team had a solid star QB, they could have won 4 or 5 rings by now. Eli is way too inconsistent and throws way too many picks. He is fine, but these receivers deserve better. The running game is very bland. Shane Vereen is okay, but he is much better at catching the ball out of the backfield and making something happen. The Giants don't want to do that. Paul Perkins is another option, but he didn't do much with his shot last year. I like the pick of Evan Engram, but if they want him to be more than just a glorified tight end, he has excellent hands, but cannot block, they need to coach him up big time. The O-Line is fine. Where the Giants excel is defense. They have a stout defense. People are still joking about what Jason Pierre Paul did to his hand 2 years ago, but that guy is an excellent D-lineman. He is really good. Olivier Vernon is also a very good defensive end. The D-line is good. The secondary is better. Landon Collins is the consummate pro. The guy does everything right, and sometimes, he does it spectacularly. Janoris Jenkins, with all the off field stuff, is a very solid cover corner. Dominique Rodgers Cromartie is great too. Eli Apple is decent. Johnathan Casillas is a pretty good linebacker. Same with BJ Goodson. This defense is good. They can stop teams. What holds the Giants back is Eli and their head coach. They should have beaten Green Bay last year, but the Giants coach got outcoached by Mike McCarthy. That is insane. And Eli, how much does he have left? I don't know. The Giants receivers and defense will be enough o push them towards the playoffs.

At number 6 I have the Kansas City Chiefs. Okay, they do have a QB problem, but give Patrick Mahomes time. He seems like he will be a quality starter in the NFL. And until he is ready, they have Alex Smith. Smith may not be the best QB in the league, but he can manage a game and he will not blow many games for you. He has done that his entire tenure in Kansas City. Sure, they lost Jamaal Charles and Jeremy Maclin this offseason, but those departures will not sting so much. Charles couldn't stay healthy, and Maclin hasn't been the same since his rookie year. They do have Tyreek Hill. Hill is explosive, fast and can catch the ball. He does have off field issues and hopefully that won't rear its head this season because he is their best play maker. They also have Travis Kelce. He is a wannabe Gronk, but he is still solid. He is not Gronk, but he makes plays and is a reliable option at tight end. Don't sleep on Chris Conley either. He was awesome at Georgia, and now, he will get a full chance to start. Charcandrick West and Spencer Ware are more than capable of replacing Charles at running back. They can both run hard and get tough yards. The O-line is solid too. Where the Chiefs are dominant is their defense. Eric Berry is one of the best safeties in football, and one of the best stories too. He came back from cancer and was still an All Pro. That's amazing. Marcus Peters is one of the best young corners in the league. As far as their linebackers, 2 names, Justin Houston and Derrick Johnson. Those 2 guys are incredibly talented and they produce and can be counted on for doing a little bit of everything. Tamba Hali is also pretty good too. The D-line did lose Dontari Poe, but they will be okay. Also, with that line backing core, the D-line doesn't have to be too disruptive. The linebackers can clean up the mess. The Chiefs are a great defensive team and an average offensive team. What separates them from a similar team, the Vikings, their offense is much better. The Chiefs will win double digit games, but that division is really tough.

The final team for today, at number 5, the Atlanta Falcons. The Super Bowl runner uppers. They should have won that game. They led by 25 points in third quarter. What a heart wrenching defeat. How will they recover? I do not know. What I do know, they have a very solid team. Matt Ryan, the MVP last season, is back. He was amazing last year. He will not replicate the numbers he put up last year, but he is still a very, very good QB. He is near that elite level. The still have Julio Jones, the best receiver in the NFL. He is so much better than whoever may be considered the second best receiver. He has been better than advertised. He is so great. And Taylor Gabriel and Mohammed Sanu round out a pretty decent group of receivers. Devonta Freeman is a great running back. I still firmly believe that if they just kept feeding him the ball, they would have easily won the Super Bowl. Tevin Coleman is a solid second option at running back. And this is the type of offense where you could plug in anyone at tight end and they would deliver. The O-line is very good too. They can pass protect and run block. They are solid. The Falcons defense is good too. The secondary is decent, led by Desmond Trufant. The linebackers are stout, led by Deion Jones. The strength of the defense is the line. Adrian Clayborne has been reborn since he signed with the Falcons. He is awesome. I love the Takkarist McKinley pick. He is young and will come at you non stop all game long. Vic Beasley has proved almost everyone wrong and has been great since he was picked. They also got Dontari Poe on a one year deal. He is going to ball out for them this year. The major question is how they respond after last year's Super Bowl loss. That was brutal. Also, they replaced their offensive coordinator, Kyle Shanahan who left for the 49ers head coach job, with Steve Sarkisian. That may not be as smooth a transition as some expect. The Falcons should be good. Lets hope they don't have the typical Super Bowl hangover.

That's is for today, come back tomorrow for my final four teams.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He once lost a game of Madden when he had a 48 point lead going into the 4th quarter. The head editor had the right cheat code that day.

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The Falcons Continue to Make Bad Decisions with the Steve Sarkisian Hire.

Steve Sarkisian was just named Kyle Shanahan's replacement as offensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons. You read that right. The Falcons, who were just in the Super Bowl, replaced their offensive coordinator who left to be the head coach for the 49ers with Steve Sarkisian.

I think this is absolute waste of a hire. They could have went out and got somebody who is much, much more experienced and already a professional coach. Besides one year as the Raiders QB coach in 2004, everything Sarkisian has done has been at the college level, and he was not that great when coaching college players. Now, he is taking over a Falcons offense that has the MVP, Matt Ryan, 2 great, young running backs in Tevin Coleman and Devonta Freeman, and probably the best receiver in the NFL right now in Julio Jones.

I ask, what makes Sarkisian the better, and more qualified, person to take this job over some available coaches? Like I said, he had very minimal success at the college level. He was part of Pete Carroll's staff at USC, first as the QB coach in 2005-06, then as the assistant head coach/QB coach/offensive coordinator from 2007 to 2008. That was where he found his most success, but looking back, I think I could have coached those 5 star athletes just as well as he did. With talent like that, it is not that hard to tell them to go out and play hard.

Then, for some inexplicable reason, the University of Washington gave him the head coaching job after the 2008 season. Washington was supposed to be the up and coming program, and Sarkisian was going to be the guy to return them to their glory days of the early 90's. Well, that did not happen. Washington was very mediocre during his tenure. They were always just on the cusp, and people always said that, "this was going to be the year for the Huskies", but they never panned out. Sarkisian was the same guy that brought a live tiger, in a cage, to a practice to prepare for an early season game against LSU. I guess he thought it would fire up his guys, but they got absolutely destroyed by LSU on that particular Saturday. It was embarrassing. In fact, besides a couple of wins against top tier opponents in his first season, in which Washington finished 5-7, his best record in the four seasons he coached there was 7-6. Not that great.

But, in what was a great fail upwards, after the Lane Kiffin debacle at USC, the Trojans decided to hire Sarkisian away from Washington in 2013. I was puzzled by this hire at the time. I figured they were getting an almost identical coach, but they claimed they were trying to get away from Lane Kiffin. Kiffin and Sarkisian are 2 great examples of guys that continue to fail up somehow. But, Sakisian was retuning home, and he was going to make USC relevant again. USC was in a rut since Pete Carroll bolted for the NFL, and I guess the higher ups figured Sarkisian would return them to glory. Well, that did not happen. He was a total disaster while the head man at USC. His life fell apart coaching there. They had the whole Josh Shaw incident, look it up, and the whole Stanford game where officials may or mat not have been contacted prior to a game to make some calls that would give USC an advantage. Then, I was actually watching this game, he was accused of being intoxicated during a game against Arizona State. I remember vividly watching and thinking to myself, he does not seem right on the sideline. He looked like, at any moment, he was going to barf all over the field, then the next second, he looked to be slurring words when speaking to his players. It was a mess. It was revealed later that he was going to take a leave of absence right after the ASU game, and check himself into rehab for alcohol abuse. During this time, Clay Helton was named interim head coach. Sarkisian was quickly fired after players and assistant coaches said that they could smell alcohol on his breath during practices.

I thought this was going to be the nail in the coffin as far as Sarkisian being a coach for any big time school, but after only one year away, Alabama hired him as an analyst for their football team. Saban was stocking his coaching staff with big names basically. Recruits love this, and Saban is no dummy. Sarkisian was basically an assistant offensive coordinator for the majority of the 2016 season. Kiffin called the plays, yes he was the offensive coordinator at Alabama, and Sarkisian gave his input. Then, as only someone like Lane Kiffin could do, he got fired after already accepting a job at Florida Atlantic, and Sarkisian was called on to be the new offensive coordinator for the national title game. I wrote about that game and how stagnant Alabama seemed on offense, and Sarkisian was the play caller. It was assumed that he would slide into Kiffin's spot, but surprisingly to me, and I bet a lot of other people, when the Falcons offensive coordinator job opened, they wasted little time hiring Sarkisian to the same position.

I do not get this hire, as I have stated throughout. I do not know what they saw in him that made them think he could lead the number one offense in football. His play calling in the title game was predictable and dreadful. How will that translate to the NFL? Not well, in my opinion. I feel like the Falcons are going to waste at least one year of 4 great offensive players in their prime. The only "sense" I can make of them picking Sarkisian to be the new offensive coordinator is that the head coach, Dan Quinn, was also a Pete Carroll guy at Seattle, and maybe they have a relationship since they both worked for him. I personally think Sarkisian is going to be very, very bad as the head play caller for the Falcons. I already thought that the Falcons would take a tiny step back after blowing the Super Bowl, but now that they hired Sarkisian, I think they will be lucky to got 9-7 next year. I mean, Julio Jones is incredible, and I love the running backs, but I think Matt Ryan played the best he will ever play, and with Sarkisian calling the plays, I think his inevitable fall back to Earth will be a fiery crash back to Earth now. This puzzled me, and I think it will, in the long run, end up hurting the Falcons.

Steve Sarkisian is not the man for this job. He would not have even been in my top 25 of candidates, but I guess he was the Falcons first, and only, choice to take over for Shanahan. I think it is going to be a nightmare.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He has a bad feeling that the ghost of Bobby Petrino will not be good for Steve Sarkisian in the ATL. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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Another View of the Super Bowl

Let me get something out of the way. Ty is the best sports writer on all the internet, and any views I have on the Super Bowl are a distant second to his thoughts. I also totally agree that the game was one half of good team vs garbage team and another half of good team vs even bigger garbage team. I am also not happy that an obnoxious front runner like President Trump was able to hear about his favorite team winning the game. There were so many things to hate about another Patriots Super Bowl victory, but Ty has already covered it all.Having said that, I feel like there are two other big stories that almost no one is talking about, and this is what Super Bowl 51 should be remembered for.

First ugly fact that no one wants to accept, the Patriots won their fifth championship because of a coin toss. The outcome of Super Bowl LI was determined by a flip of chance. Never before has the biggest game of the year gone to overtime, and that was a good thing. The overtime rules of the NFL are a joke. The fact that after four quarters of play, the NFL thinks it is good competition to let one big play end the game. In the regular season, that fact is annoying. In the Super Bowl, it makes a mockery of the entire competition. Maybe the Falcons would not have scored, their offense was pretty average in the second half, but not even getting a chance to compete is idiotic. A few years back the NFL tried to fix their overtime rules, but those fixes did not work in the biggest game of the year. New England's comeback was incredible, but they won the game because their captains made the correct guess in a 50-50 game of chance. The sports press does not want to point out that the NFL let their championship get decided by a coin flip, but that is what happened. Why play any games if the Lombardi Trophy gets rewarded to the team who makes a lucky guess. I guarantee you that the NFL will have college like overtime rules within the next few years. When that day comes, everyone will recognize that the Patriots fifth title was decided on the head of a commemorative coin.

The other story no one in the sports press will talk about, but every single fan knows, is that the Patriots are known, and admitted, cheaters. The fact that the NFL has been dominated by an organization who openly cheats has not been good for the league. Many people will defend the Patriots by saying that everyone cheats. My response is that no one else gets caught as often as the Patriots do. The sports media wants to protect their cash cow that is the NFL, but the public has made up their mind. The Patriots are cheaters, and most fans of football dislike this. Boston fans are reason enough to hate any team, but the cheating in New England is the real reason everyone hates the Patriots

I personally think the Patriots cheating culture, and the sports media's willful ignorance, is not the biggest problem facing the NFL. I was rooting for the Patriots because they are unapologetic about their cheating. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has kept the Patriots cheating in the front of all league news, while he ignores the real problems in the NFL. Time after time he casually dismisses cases of domestic violence, he ignores the mental health of the players in an incredibly inhumane way, and he has no problem blaming the fans for the owners shortsightedness and greed. I dismiss the Patriots cheating, because Roger Goodell thinks it is important. Whatever Roger Goodell is fighting must be worth defending. Goodell defends domestic abusers, incompetent medical professionals, and greedy owners. Those are the things I choose to fight.

That is my view of Super Bowl LI. A game of two bad halves that came down to a damn coin toss in the end. The Falcons choked, yes. The Patriots won a record fifth title, yes. Those are instant reaction stories from the sports media. I was happy to see Roger Goodell look very uncomfortable handing the trophy over the Patriots, but if my only interest is an embarrassed buffoon, is the NFL really even worth watching? Maybe all the games can be decided on a coin toss next year, and save everyone a lot of time. I still think the Patriots will win a record sixth title. They will find a way to weight the coin on the heads side. They cheat, that is the Patriots way, and Roger Goodell is powerless before their awesomeness.

RD

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast? If you think Roger Goodell is doing a good job? Are the Patriots not cheaters? Are you Sean Spicer? I want everyone to know your thoughts . Write for us.

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A Non-Classic Super Bowl Won by the Wrong Team

Evil prevailed last night in the Super Bowl.

I know that I picked the Patriots to win, but when the Falcon went up 28-3, I was very, very happy. They had dominated that whole game up to that point. They could not be stopped on offense, going short burst drive after short burst drive, and their defense was more than up to the task of shutting down the Patriots offense. Hell, they pick sixed Tom Brady, which barely ever happens, especially in a Super Bowl. Julio Jones ended up with only 4 catches, but they were four of the greatest catches I had ever seen. Devonta Freeman and, up until he got hurt, Tevin Coleman were gashing the Patriots defense for 5 or 6 yards a carry. I mean, how on Earth could they lose, I, and I bet almost everyone else watching thought.

Then, the Falcons went into a prevent on defense. I do not know if this is from being worn out, the Patriots ran 93 plays to the Falcons 46, or the Patriots just figured it out. The Falcons also decided that they needed to keep throwing the ball instead of utilizing their extremely effective run game. This was one of the biggest brain farts in the history of pro sports that I have ever witnessed. Dan Quinn, who is a defensive guy, who had his defense playing man all game and getting pressure routinely in the first half, decided with a 25 point lead that he had to go to a prevent. This was a fine idea at the time it seemed, but when the Patriots scored a TD and a field goal to cut it to a 16 point lead, I would have applied the pressure again. But, he stuck with the prevent, much to his dismay. I was baffled why he did not go back to putting the pressure on. That is how you beat the Patriots. But, he decided that he needed to back off and play the pass. I just don't get it.

On the other side of the ball, I know that you have the MVP, Matt Ryan, and maybe the best receiver in the game in Julio Jones, but why not lean on that running game up 25 points. It had worked for them all game, but they came out and passed like they were in a shootout. The Patriots defense clamped down in the second half, but I think it would have been moot had Atlanta stuck with the run game. I only saw a few carries that went for 0 or negative yards. But Atlanta Offensive Coordinator Kyle Shanahan, the 49ers about to be named new coach decided that he needed his MVP quarterback to throw the ball a bit more. All this passing led to the biggest momentum turnaround I have ever seen in a Super Bowl in my lifetime. The Patriots, down 16, blitzed a linebacker on 3rd and 1, the Falcons inexplicably put Ryan in shotgun and called a long pass play. The linebacker got through the O line with ease and strip sacked Matt Ryan, to set his team up with great field position with about 6 and a half minutes left. The Patriots turned it into a quick TD, converted the 2 point play and then we had a game.

Down 8, I was pretty sure the Falcons could still salt away the game, but they went back to throwing the ball and making stupid mistakes. First off, on that last drive of the Falcons entire season, Julio Jones made one of the greatest catches on the sideline in Super Bowl history to set his team up at the 23 yard line with less than 4 minutes left and a field goal would ice the game for them. But, the Falcons proceeded to get sacked, called for a holding penalty, never mind the fact that the refs missed a blatant face mask on the Patriots, and they were all the way back near mid field, way out of field goal range. They had to punt the ball, and they gave the Patriots a chance with over 3 minutes left. The Patriots proceeded to drive the ball 91 yards for the game tying TD and 2 point conversion. During this drive, Julian Edelman made one of the best Super Bowl catches ever, for those keeping track at home, that is 2 classic catches in one game, Tom Brady scrambled for 19 yards, which he never does, and the Falcons just could not get a break and they gave up that TD with relative ease.

With the 2 point play being so easy for them I knew then that the Patriots were gong to win, if they won the coin toss in overtime. They, of course, won the toss and Brady and James White drove that team down the field and White scored the game winning TD in overtime. The Falcons offense never got another shot with the ball. I do not know if they would have done anything with it, but they never had a chance, which makes the NFL's overtime a travesty.

Lots of people are saying that this was one of the greatest Super Bowl's ever, but I do not know if I agree. As our head editor and owner of the site told me on a call earlier today, this was a game where one team was hot in one half, and the other was hot in the second half. I totally agree with him. It was exciting, but frustrating as well. I could not believe what the Patriots were doing in the first half, and I could not believe what the Falcons did late in the second half. It was an exciting game, but I do not know if I will remember it like I remember the Broncos beating the Packers, Malcom Butler's interception 2 years ago, the 49ers crushing the Chargers, the Rams beating the Titans, the Patriots beating the Rams, all those games seem, at the moment, more important and better, in my opinion. Yes, this game cements Tom Brady as the greatest QB ever, but he was really awful in the first half. Do not forget that. He was really, really bad in that first half.

Also, do not forget that the Falcons blew this game. This is, quite possibly, the worst loss in the history of pro sports ever. The Patriots did not win, the Falcons lost. I feel real bad for my friends that are Falcons fans today. I also feel for anyone that is not a Patriots fan, which is about 95 percent of the country. This is just another sign that, sometimes, evil prevails. We got evil being dethroned when Clemson beat Alabama, but the Patriots comeback restored the Goliath in sports. I almost always root for the underdog, and the underdog looked great for 40 minutes last night, but Goliath only needed 20 minutes to comeback and win.

I guess, congrats Patriots, but I wish that the Falcons had pulled out that win. They blew it, and I felt gross after watching all the post game stuff. I felt like the wrong team won last night, but hey, that is the way it goes. But I do not think by any means that this was a "classic" game. I thought it was a game where the wrong team ended up winning.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He did thoughourly enjoy seeing Tom Brady, Robert Kraft, and and Bill Belichick having a good time while NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell looked like the odd man out. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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The Two Best Teams in the NFL Will Make for a Great Super Bowl

We hope the game day nachos live up to the great match-up

Yesterday's NFC and AFC title games were a waste of time. Both games were blowouts. The Patriots and the Falcons were clearly the 2 best teams in their respective conferences. I'm not going to do a Super Bowl preview, I already picked the Patriots to win when I did my full preview and yesterday did not change my mind. I still have the Patriots winning a close game.

What I do want to talk about today, the 2 correct teams are playing for the Super Bowl in 2 weeks. As I have already stated, the Falcons and the Patriots are the 2 best teams in the NFL this year. I'm sure some people, Roger Goodell I'm talking to your punk ass, wanted to see the Steelers beat the Patriots, but lets be real, the Patriots are a far superior team. Sure, the Steelers were riding a big win streak, and they looked great, but who did they really play to end the season or in their first 2 playoff games? I believe they ended the regular season with match-ups in the final 2 weeks against the Bengals and Browns. The Bengals were tremendous underachievers this season, it's probably due the fact they did not change their team name to the Harambe's, and they kept their games close. The Browns were the joke of the NFL this year and the Steelers needed a comeback to beat them in week 17.

In the playoffs, the Steelers got the Dolphins in round one, with a backup QB. The Steelers did what they were supposed to do to an undermanned opponent. The Dolphins, due to both injury and coaching, are not as good as the Steelers. The fact that they blew them out was a foregone conclusion. Then, against a Chiefs team, they did not even score a touchdown and they won. To this I say, they got to play playoff Andy Reid, and playoff Andy Reid is atrocious. He makes terrible decisions and outcoaches himself. Also, the Chiefs offense leaves a ton to be desired. They have no real threats on offense and the Steelers knew that, and they controlled the game. The other playoff teams in the AFC were the Texans and the Raiders. The Texans are terrible and they did not deserve a playoff spot. The Raiders starting QB broke his leg in week 16, and they played a third stringer in their playoff game. The Steelers would have easily beaten either of those teams handily.

Unfortunately for the Steelers they had to go to Foxboro and play the Patriots, who were coming off an 18 point win where people, myself included, said they looked bad. Well, last night, they looked like the Patriots. Tom Brady was whipping the ball around on a very young secondary and exploited every weakness in that young secondary. Then, when the pass game loosened up the rush, Legarette Blount, Dion Lewis and James White took over running the ball. The game was close for a half, then the Patriots seized control and never let up. Hell, with a 27 point lead, Brady was still throwing the ball. The Patriots did exactly what most should have expected. I could not believe how many "experts" thought the Steelers were going to win that game. It was a laugher from the third quarter on. The best team in the AFC is representing their conference, as they should be. 

Now lets get to my team and the ass whooping they took yesterday. If the Patriots-Steelers game was done by the third quarter, the Falcons-Packers game was done after the first drive. The Falcons went right up the field, scored a touchdown with ease and never looked back. Green Bay proceeded to miss field goals, fumble the ball, get sacked, throw picks, basically anything and everything they could to lose the game. They looked god awful yesterday and the Falcons took full advantage, as they should have.

But, looking at the teams in the NFC, who was better than Atlanta? Some may say that is was the Cowboys. I say no way. The Cowboys were paper tigers. They had a great regular season, but when they needed a playoff win, their defense and coaching reared its ugly head. Is Jason Garrett not the Andy Reid of the NFC? He puts together decent regular seasons, then always craps out in the playoffs. Jason Garrett is a bad NFL head coach.

Yesterday we saw what Atlanta can do to a terribly prepared, coached and injury riddled defense like Green Bay's yesterday. They smashed the Seahawks the previous week. They crushed Russell Wilson all game and Matt Ryan, Julio Jones and the best duo in the backfield in the game right now, Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman, ran rough shot over them. The other 2 NFC playoff teams were the Lions and the Giants. The Lions lost 4 in a row going into the playoffs and Matt Stafford was hurt. They were doomed the moment they walked into Seattle, so just think of what that Falcons offense would have done to them. The Giants have a very good defense, but they still have Eli Manning. I do not care how good your receiving corps is when you have Eli Manning throwing the ball. The Falcons would have crushed the Giants, much like the Packers did. The Falcons were clearly the best team in the NFC.

So, while Fox may not like the matchup because it only has one "marquee" team or while Roger Goodell may be terrified of what will happen if he has to hand the Lombardi Trophy over to the Patriots or Vegas can't pick good odds or whatever other crap people may complain about, the Falcons and the Patriots are far and away the 2 best NFL teams and this is going to be a good Super Bowl. The Patriots are the Patriots, but not a lot of people know that they have the number one scoring defense in the NFL. The Patriots have a very good, very underrated defense. And the Falcons, well, they have Julio Jones and the number one scoring offense in the NFL. It is strength on strength for the Super Bowl. I love this matchup, and since I have no rooting interest, I cannot wait to watch and see what happens. I think the Patriots will win, but it would be pretty sweet if someone like Julio Jones has an epic game and somehow gets the win for the Falcons. I'm hyped for Super Bowl 51, and I think everyone else should be too.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He was glad that Green Bay was out of the game so early, that freed him up to other more productive things through the night. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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Ty Ranks the 2016 NFL Teams: Day Old Donuts Edition

On to day three of my NFL preview. The next four teams are much better than the previous 8, but these teams have, at best, a slight chance of finishing at or above .500. Some were great a few years ago, others have potential, and some, they just haven't been up to snuff. Anyway, on with the countdown.

Coming in at number 24, I have the Atlanta Falcons. Man, this team is so, so much better on paper than they actually perform on the field. They should be at, or near the top of their division every season, but they, one way or another, always find a way to shoot themselves in the feet. They throw crucial pick sixes, fumble at inopportune times, or can't get that last stop that they need. Let's look at the offense first. They have, since Calvin Johnson may actually be retired, the best receiver in all of football in Julio Jones. Jones catches everything gets open in the smallest of cracks, is faster than almost everyone on the field, and has been very durable. But, after Jones, it gets a little suspect. Sure, Devonta Freeman exploded on the scene last year, becoming one of the best fantasy pick ups ever, but he faded at the end of the year, and I wonder if he was a one season wonder. I hope he's good, because I really like his game, but time will tell. Outside of Julio Jones, they don't have much at receiver. Roddy White is gone, and to take is place are guys like Muhammed Sanu and Devin Fuller. Those guys aren't, and probably don't have the potential to be, household names. Then, there is the conundrum that is Matt Ryan. He should be a great QB, but he seems more average to mediocre. Sure, he has some big passing numbers, but that is because of Julio Jones, not Matt Ryan. And this whole "Matty Ice" nonsense needs to stop. Yeah, he may have kept his cool under pressure in college, but he is an interception machine in the pros. He tries to fit passes into windows that no QB can. This may be the last we see of the Matt Ryan experience in Atlanta, and that maybe for the best. He just hasn't figured it out yet, and I don't think he will. On defense, they have big name guys, but no results. They can throw a Vic Beasley or a Courtney Upshaw or Adrian Clayborn out there, but these guys are stopping anyone. The Falcons give up a ton of points. They just don't have the necessary guys to truly stop anyone. Unfortunately Falcons fans, I think this team is a 6 win team again, blowing a lot of games late.

At number 23, I have the Miami Dolphins. Now, first things first, they could make me look like an idiot by making noise and leading that division after the first four games due to Tom Brady's suspension, but will they? I don't know. That is what is so frustrating about the Dolphins. I legitimately want to like them, but they are so hard to get behind. They have really good to great players on both sides of the ball, but they have nothing to show for it. This is the make or break year for Ryan Tannehill. I know they paid him a bundle, but if he doesn't perform this season, they may look to move on. Tannehill can't beat the good teams, and he plays down to lesser opponents. It's maddening watching someone who could be great play so poorly. Then, they have excellent receivers like Jarvis Landry and Davante Parker, but they are both under sized, and they have Tannehill throwing them the ball. That does not make for a great combination. I feel really bad for Jarvis Landry because he is very, very good. They went out and signed Arian Foster, who is great, but he simply cannot stay healthy. The offensive line made the best pick in the draft, grabbing Laremy Tunsil, but he is a rookie and it is always tough sledding for rookies. Then, on defense, they have guys like Ndamakong Suh, Cameron Wake, Kiko Alonso, Dion Jordan and they signed Mario Williams. Williams and Suh are household names, but they were both very subpar last year. Cameron Wake was hurt all year, so we will see how he comes back. Alonso and Jordan are young and fast, but very unproven. They have the names, but no results. Like I said, I could be way off, but I just don't see them taking the four game advantage because of their QB and running back situations. My gut tells me they finish 7-9 this year.

At number 22, I have the LA Rams, the team ripped away from Saint Louis so that douchebag Stan Kroenke could bet another million or so bucks. I was very high on this Rams team last year. I thought they had the potential to sneak into the playoffs. But, they under performed once again. They could not get anything going on offense, no matter how great Todd Gurley was. I love Gurley. I think he has the potential to be a big, big star. But, the rest of the offense, not so great. They will be starting number one overall pick Jared Goff at QB this year. You all know how I feel about rookies in the NFL, and I think Goff is going to be a major bust. He was another guy, a la Jay Cutler, that didn't really win in college, but for some reason, NFL scouts love him. sure he's tall, but his arm isn't great, and it will take him awhile to learn and deal with the speed in the NFL. His receivers are all downright crummy. I thought Tavon Austin would be good, I was wrong. Wes Welker is there, but he is old and has been concussed far too much. Other than those 2, it's all rookies or guys looking to make a team. Their offensive line is so so. Their defense should be all world, but they haven't quite put it together yet. Aaron Donald is a stud though. That guy is great. They have some good defensive backs, guys like Trumaine Johnson and EJ Gaines, but they haven't put it all together yet. They have good linebackers too, but they just haven't shown up fully yet. The defense can still be great, as I said, I love Donald and Quinton Coples and Mark Barron, but they just aren't elite yet. The defense will keep them in some games, maybe even win a few for them, but that offense, when opponents stack the box with 8, 9 and sometimes 10 guys, will sputter out and be ineffective. They could go .500, but I see 6-10 or 7-9 as more likely.

My final team of the day, coming in at number 21, I have the New Orleans Saints. This team was once, not that long ago, a perennial Super Bowl contender. but, Drew Brees has only gotten older, more hurt and not as efficient as he once was. Brees is a sure fire hall of famer, and probably top 15 QB of all time, but his best days are behind him. Then, to make matters worse, they let Jimmy Graham go last year and now they released Marques Colston. Those two were his safety blankets. He could rely on them more than anyone else, and they almost always came through for the team. Now, Brees is throwing to guys like Brandin cooks and Michael Thomas. sure, they are good, but they are not Jimmy Graham or Marques Colston. Their running game is average. Mark Ingram is another in a long line of Alabama backs that don't produce much of anything in the pros. Then his backup, CJ Spiller, he was cut from the Bills last year, so that should tell you all you need to know. The offensive line is fine, but not great. The Saints defense is an absolute dumpster fire. This team gave up over 50 points at least twice last season. They cannot stop anyone, Eli Manning included. They have no one that is, or ever has been, competent on defense. That's the biggest issue, they have to try and outscore teams, and that is not a recipe for winning in the NFL. The Saints have become a bummer team to watch. They are getting older at skill positions, mainly QB, and their defense is utterly atrocious. They will be lucky to be 6-10 next year.

That's it for today, come back tomorrow for the next four teams.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He still wears his vintage Tony Banks St. Louis Rams jersey to remember the bad days. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Ty is not impressed with the undefeated Carolina Panthers

This is how scary the Panters are right now

Yesterday I gave a lot of love to the undefeated Golden State Warriors. Today, I'm going to talk about another undefeated team, this time in the NFL, that hasn't impressed me.

I heaped a ton of praise on the Warriors, rightfully so, but the Carolina Panthers may be the most suspect 10-0 NFL team that I've seen in quite some time. Sure, Cam Newton is playing like an MVP this year. And their defense is about as shut down as they come. But, their run game has been spotty, at best, and they have no real receivers since Kelvin Benjamin went down in the preseason. Devin Funchess has turned it on as of late and Greg Olsen is, right now, the second best tight end in the league behind Rob Gronkowski. But, the main reason they are undefeated is, their schedule has been one of the easiest in the NFL. The ten teams that they've beaten are as follows; the Jaguars(4-6), the Texans(5-5), the Saints(4-6), the Buccaneers(5-5), the Seahawks(5-5), the Eagles(4-6), the Colts(5-5), the Packers(7-3), the Titans(2-8) and the team from Washington(4-6). The rest of their schedule has the Cowboys(3-7), Saints again, the Falcons(6-4), the Giants(5-5), Falcons again and their season ends with the Buccaneers. For those of you keeping track at home, that's 2 teams with a winning record, the Packers are good, but the Falcons are not. That's 4 teams that are at .500. The best of the .500 teams may be the Seahawks, and they've given up big leads at home, Marshawn Lynch is hurt, Russell Wilson is STRUGGLING and they don't know how to effectively use Jimmy Graham. The Buccaneers are shockingly a .500 team, but they're led by a rookie QB. Sure, Jameis Winston has looked good lately, but he's still a rookie. The Texans stink. I don't care that they recently beat the Bengals, they have no offense and, other than JJ Watt and Vince Wilfork, their defense stinks. And the Colts have been the biggest disappointment in the NFL. The rest of the teams they've beaten are all below .500. The Jaguars have won two straight, but it's still the Jaguars. They are about four or five years away from competing for anything important. The Saints play absolutely no defense. None whatsoever. They are awful. The Eagles are just as bad as the Saints, if not worse. They have no clue what to do on offense because Chip Kelly is an idiot and their defense just gave up 45 points, at home, to the Buccaneers. The Titans have nothing. They have a rookie QB, no running game, no receivers and no defense. They will probably end up with the worst record in the NFL this year. And the team from Washington is a joke in every sense of the word. They are an irrelevant franchise at the moment.

So, when you look at who the 10-0 Panthers have beaten, it's by no means a murderers row. We are talking a combined record of 45-55. That's pretty bad. That's really bad actually. They've also had to squeak out victories over the Titans two weeks ago, the Saints in week three without Drew Brees, they needed overtime to beat the Colts in week 8 and they needed a game saving interception to beat the Packers after they squandered a huge fourth quarter lead. The only real blow out came last week when they trashed Washington. A lot of teams have crushed Washington this year.

Now, it's hard to win 10 straight games, and just as I stated yesterday, you need luck and teams to blow games to have streaks that last this long. What the Panthers have done is very good and a bit intriguing, but if I was a team coming to play them in Carolina for a playoff game, I wouldn't be that worried about them. They don't have a very good home field advantage. They don't strike fear in their opponents. Put Cam Newton on any other team, the Panthers would be lucky to be 5-5 right now. For an example, put him on the Titans, and they'd be a 5-5 or 6-4 team right now. That's how good he's been this year. I didn't think he'd make much of a pro, but he's gotten better every year, and he's become an MVP candidate. But, he doesn't scare me when it comes to the playoffs.

This has happened with the Panthers before. Two or three years ago, they were the surprise of the NFL, winning their division with a 12-4 record. They seemed like a lock to get to the conference championship, but they got crushed in their playoff game and became an after thought. They have a real chance to go undefeated this year though. Their schedule the rest of the way is very easy, with their toughest game coming next week at Dallas. They should win that easily. So, let's say they finish the regular season 16-0. They'd be the number one seed and have a first round bye. They'd also have home field advantage. And let's just say they win that second round playoff game to advance to the NFC title. They'd either get the Green Bay Packers or the Arizona Cardinals. Those are the three best teams in the NFC in my opinion. I'd take the Packers, I picked them to win the Super Bowl, or the Cardinals in a second over the Panthers if I were a betting man. I know, the Panthers already beat Green Bay, but the end of that game showed me that the Packers know how to score on the Panthers. And the Cardinals, I think they'd absolutely crush the Panthers in a playoff game. They have an excellent secondary that would shut down their mediocre receivers, and someone will cover Greg Olsen. And the Cardinals offense, if healthy, I could see them scoring 40 by the end of the third quarter. They will beat them with the run, and their receivers are bigger and more physical than the Panthers secondary. It would be a totally lost season for the Panthers.

I will say again, good for you Carolina for being undefeated this late in the year, but until you win some games against quality opponents, I'm not impressed. The Warriors you are not Carolina, sorry. Good luck, and I hope Cam Newton continues to get better because he's fun to watch, but I just don't see them as a viable, fear inducing opponent to whoever they will face in the playoffs. The Panthers will have a very good regular season, possibly an undefeated one, but they will crap out in the playoffs, that's what they do.

They aren't champions yet.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He just recently learned there is a North and South Carolina. What's next, a New Mexico? Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik. 

Ty Needs to Change his Super Bowl Picks: NFL Midseason Redo

Ty made some cookies to apologize about the Colts pick

Much like my blog yesterday, I'm going to tackle the NFL at the midway point.

Week 8 just ended and most teams have played 7 or 8 games. You can definitely get a sense of who is a legit contender, and who are the bottom of the barrel teams. I'll go over my previous division winners and I'll pick who I think will win their division now, and the wild cards from each conference. I'll also pick the MVP, coach of the year, offensive and defensive player of the year and offensive and defensive rookie of the year compared to my season preview.

Let's start with the AFC. The AFC East is being led by the New England Patriots at 7-0. The Jets are 4-3 and the Bills and Dolphins are 3-4. I was wrong about this division, picking the Dolphins. They've kind of gotten back on track, but they were just destroyed by the Patriots and they were a mess before firing Joe Philbin. The Jets and Bills are both middle of the road, but the Jets are playing much better than I thought with Ryan Fitzpatrick at QB. The Bills are a typical Rex Ryan team. They play good defense, have a subpar offense and blow games. The Patriots are clearly the class of this division. They're on a war path since the stupid "deflate gate" bull shit and Tom Brady and Bill Belichek are playing and coaching with anger, and they thrive that way. I don't think they'll go undefeated, but Tom Brady is playing like the MVP and they'll win this division easily. I shouldn't have doubted them. In the AFC North, the Bengals are leading the division with a 7-0 record. They're playing lights out defense right now, but they have to prove it in the playoffs before I trust them. The Steelers are 4-4 and just lost LeVeon Bell for the rest of the season, they're toast. The Browns are exactly what everyone, save for ESPN, thought they'd be. They're mediocre on offense and defense and people still talk about Johnny Manziel like he's an important player. The Browns stink. The Ravens are a shockingly bad 2-6. They've blown games that they should've won, and they look pretty bad on defense without Terrell Suggs. They're the most disappointing team in the NFL in my opinion and they just lost their best receiver for the year with Steve Smith SR tearing his ACL. The Bengals will run away with this division, no problem. The AFC South is a joke and this division made me look like a moron with my preseason preview. The Colts are in first place, but they're tied with the Texans at a dreadful 3-5. Andrew Luck is clearly hurt and their defense stinks. Screw you Indy for making me look like an idiot. The Texans are terrible. Their "vaunted" defense can't stop anyone, and their offense is bad and just got worse with Arian Foster going down with a season ending injury yet again. The Texans stink. Jacksonville and Tennessee have three wins combined. They're playing as everyone thought they would. Blake Bortles may not be that good of an NFL QB and the Jags defense is not good. The Titans are being led by a rookie QB, I know he's missed the last two games, and they may not win another game all season. Mariota is going through growing pains and he has no weapons on offense and their coach is pretty bad, and just got fired. I'm still picking the Colts to win this division, but they may only win 6 or 7 games and they will get crushed in the playoffs. The AFC West has been surprisingly competitive. The Broncos are still the best team and they're undefeated. Something is going on with Peyton Manning, but the Broncos are winning with their league best defense. They're lock down on that side of the ball. The Raiders are 4-3 and in second place. Derek Carr is a star in the making and now he has Amari Cooper to throw to. Their defense is playing halfway decent led by ageless wonder Charles Woodson. The Raiders may actually be good. The Chiefs had a brutal schedule to start the season and started 1-5, but they've won their past two and look better, even with Jamaal Charles out for the year. They have a good tight end in Kelce and a deep threat in Jeremy Maclin. Their defense is good as always. Unfortunately for them, they dug themselves to deep a hole and they won't be able to get out of it. The Chargers are a team in flux. They don't know if they're moving to LA, and they have no fan base. Phillip Rivers is on the back half of his good playing days, and Melvin Gordon hasn't lived up to the hype. The Chargers aren't a threat anymore. So, the playoff teams from the AFC will be division winners, Denver, Indy(UGH!), New England and Cincinnati. The Wild Cards will be the Jets, I can't believe I just wrote that and the Raiders, I really can't believe I just wrote that. I was wrong on Miami and Pittsburgh has suffered some brutal injuries, but other than that, I think I did okay. The Patriots are coming out of the AFC with little push. Denver is the only team that can compete, but they won't be able to beat New England in Foxborough. The Patriots will represent the AFC again in the Super Bowl. 

To the NFC. We will start with the NFC East. This division is a joke. The Giants are leading it with a 4-4 record, and they just gave up 52 points to the Saints. One week they look good, the other they look bad. The Eagles and the Washington professional football team have matching 3-4 records. How they got there is different. The Eagles play awesome defense, but their offense is bad. Chip Kelly is supposed to be an offensive genius, but he doesn't use DeMarco Murray properly, he relies on Sam Bradford too much and he has no real receivers. The Eagles are bad. Washington is lucky to be where they are. Kirk Cousins got way too riled up after a comeback victory over Tampa Bay. He's a terrible NFL QB, but who else do they have? Their defense is not very good either. Basically, they got very lucky three times and that luck is going to run out. The Cowboys have been plagued by injury and stupidity. Tony Romo and Dez Bryant missed multiple games. Joseph Randle is facing punishment for drugs and they're now starting Darren McFadden. Greg Hardy is a lunatic and doesn't belong in the league. And Jerry Jones, boy is he going nuts. The Cowboys may be the best team in this division, but that's not saying much and they are too far behind at 2-5 to win this division. The Giants will win the division and they will probably do it with only 8 wins. The NFC North is led by my beloved Packers at 6-1. They've looked pretty bad on offense the past couple of weeks though and the Broncos just throttled them on Sunday night. They'll fix what ails them, but they need a quick fix. They also need to use Eddie Lacy more, if he's healthy. The Vikings are playing pretty well, with a 5-2 record. But, let us not forget why their star player, Adrian Peterson, was out all of last season for beating a child. Announcers seem to have forgotten this, but I haven't. He's a monster. The Vikings are winning with good defense and the emergence of rookie receiver Stefon Diggs and smart QB play from Teddy Bridgewater, not child abuser Adrian Peterson. The Bears and Lions are equally bad. The Bears are 2-5 and as long as they have Jay Cutler at QB, they'll continue to be mediocre. The Lions are a dreadful 1-7 and they can't catch a break. They're also poorly coached and Matt Stafford is not a franchise QB, he's barely a starting QB. Calvin Johnson deserves better than this. The Packers will win this division. The NFC South has been surprisingly decent. The Panthers are 7-0 and playing awesome defense and Cam Newton is playing fantastic football. They also have a really good run game. The Falcons are 6-2, but they're not that impressive, save for Julio Jones and Devonta Freeman. Those are the catalysts of this team, not Matt Ryan. He's been erratic all season. The defense is serviceable. The Saints are 4-4 and Drew Brees is beginning to look like his old self, but he doesn't have any real weapons. Mark Ingram has been solid, but he's not a star and Ben Watson has been playing good at tight end, but that's it. And their defense, woof, they're bad. The Buccaneers round out this division at 3-4. They've played better than I thought they would and while Jameis Winston has looked bad at times, he's had his moments and Doug Martin may be turning his career around. But, they are still a bad team led by a rookie QB. Carolina will win this division. The NFC West has been as competitive as I thought it would be. The Cardinals lead it with a 6-2 record. Carson Palmer has been lights out and so has Larry Fitzgerald and Chris Johnson. They have a potent offense. Their defense is still really good too. Barring injury, this team should be considered a legit contender. The Rams are 4-3 and they look good one week, but bad the next. The emergence of Todd Gurley should definitely help this team out. He's been awesome. And their defense is still one of the league's best. The Seahawks are 4-4 and they've looked very unimpressive. Russell Wilson is not living up to the contract he got. Marshawn Lynch can't stay healthy and they don't know how to use Jimmy Graham. He's the best tight end in football, save for Rob Gronkowski, and he's only getting 4 or 5 targets a game. Their defense is giving up fourth quarter leads as well. They do not look like the "dynasty" that a lot of people predicted them to be. The 49ers are a total mess. They're benching Kaepernick in favor of Blaine Gabbert. WTF! He's a terrible pro. They have no running game, they traded away Vernon Davis and they can't get the ball to Torrey Smith or Anquan Boldin. Their defense is okay, but when you're on the field for 45 minutes of a 60 minute game, you get tired and when you get tired, you give up points. The 49ers stink. Cardinals win this division. So the NFC playoff teams will be division winners, New York Giants, Green Bay, Carolina and Arizona. The two wild Cards will be Minnesota and Saint Louis. This means I was wrong about the Eagles and the Seahawks. Neither will make the playoffs. I'm torn between Arizona and Green Bay, but Arizona will suffer some kind of injury and the Packers will figure out their offensive problem and they will win the NFC.

So, that gives us a Green Bay and New England Super Bowl. I'm going to stick with the Packers. They're the one team that can beat the Patriots. As far as the awards go, I was wrong on almost all of these. First of all, the MVP is Tom Brady. He's torching this league and he's on a mission. I picked Aaron Rodgers, but he's struggled lately and Tom Brady has not. Brady will also win offensive player of the year. Defensive player of the year will be Charles Woodson, not Ndomakong Suh. Woodson is still playing at an elite level and he makes the Raiders a real threat. Winning this will put him in the conversation as greatest defensive back of all time. Coach of the year is still Jeff Fisher in my opinion. He'll lead this team to a Wild Card spot and that alone gives him the award. I picked Melvin Gordon as offensive rookie of the year. He's been not so good mid way through the season. However, Todd Gurley looks to be a beast. He's setting records and rushing for a lot of yards on a good Rams team. Gurley is, hands down, the offensive rookie of the year. I picked Bud Dupree as defensive rookie of the year, but he has just blended in with the Steeler defense, he hasn't really stood out. Marcus Peters, however, has been a pretty good cornerback for the Chiefs from day one. He's my pick for defensive rookie of the year.

So, there you have it, my mid way NFL picks, Some are the same, some are different. Tell me why I'm wrong and give me your picks in the comment section.

Thanks

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He thinks Tom Brady is over inflating footballs just to screw with the NFL. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik

Ty's NFL Preview 2015: NFC

Game is on, get ready to...why is Ty's drink still green?

The NFC is also made up of four divisions as well, the East, West, North and South. The NFC East is made up of the, Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, the team from the region of Washington DC and the New York Giants. The Cowboys completely shocked me last season. I didn't see them playing that well at all, especially on defense. DeMarco Murray was awesome, but he's gone to the Eagles and Dez Bryant is good, but he's got Tony Romo throwing him the ball. That's a bummer. Jason Witten is reliable, but old. The defense will take a step back for sure. The offensive line is good, but as I mentioned before, DeMarco Murray is gone and Darren McFadden won't ease the loss. The Cowboys are going to take a big step back this season and probably only win 9 games. That may be enough to win this division. The Eagles have had a very odd offseason. Chip Kelly traded away a lot of great players like, LeSean McCoy and Jeremy Maclin and Nick Foles. The only one he really "replaced" was McCoy by signing Murray. Sam Bradford seems to be their starting QB, but he CANNOT stay healthy (I am from St. Louis, I know this). He's a liability. They also brought in Tim Freakin Tebow. That guy is not an NFL quarterback, he's just not good. The Eagles defense is pretty good and should keep them in games. They will either win 11 or 5 games, who knows. I will split the difference and say they get to 10 wins, but barely. The New York Giants aren't a very good football team, and the recent news that Eli Manning wants to be the highest paid player in football is laughable. Sure, he's won two super bowls, but what have you done for me lately besides lead the league in interceptions and stupid faces. They have no running game. They do have Odell Beckham JR and Victor Ortiz, but that doesn't matter when Eli is throwing it to the other team. Their defense is not good either. They will be lucky to get to 7 wins this year. Until they are willing to change their name, the team from Washington will get no love from me. They stink anyway and 4 wins would be a shocker. The Eagles will win this division and get the pleasure of being blown out by whoever they play in the first round of the playoffs.

The NFC West is one of the best, if not the best, divisions in the NFL. First, you have the Seattle Seahawks. They have the best defense in the league and it's not even close. All three phases are lights out, and while I may not like the players in the secondary, they are shut down corners and the safeties are heavy hitters. The offense is run by the overrated Russel Wilson. That offense is truly run by Marshawn Lynch. He's the current best running back in the league. He's truly a beast. They don't have great receivers, but they traded for Jimmy Graham this offseason and that will only make them better. They will easily get to 11 wins this year. The St.Louis Rams are up and coming, but I don't know how they'll play with expectations. They also have a great defense and one of the best defensive lines in the league. They drafted a great running back in Todd Gurley and replaced the oft injured Sam Bradford with Nick Foles. He's an upgrade at QB. The receivers are small, but explosive. If they can put it all together, they won't be able to challenge the Seahawks yet, but they could win 9 or 10 games. The Arizona Cardinals are another good team in this division. If Carson Palmer can stay healthy, they should be good on offense with him throwing to Michael Floyd and Larry Fitzgerald. The running game was in flux, but they just signed Chris Johnson to a one year deal. If he can do half as good as when he was with the Titans, they should be set. Their defense is awesome led by cornerback Patrick Peterson. They are really good, but they seem to get bitten by the injury bug every season. They should win 10 games, barring any big injury, but someone will inevitably get hurt, so they'll probably only get 8 or 9 wins. The San Francisco 49ers round out the division. This team seems to have gone into rebuild mode. They changed coaches, lost Frank Gore, Patrick Willis retired along with a lot of players on defense and Michael Crabtree left in free agency. They still have Anquan Boldin and Colin Kaepernick, but this team is going to take a huge step back. They will only get 5 or 6 wins this year. This division will be won by the Seahawks again, but it will be very tough.

The NFC South is the exact opposite of the West. This division could be won by a team with 8 or fewer wins. The teams are, the New Orleans Saints, the Atlanta Falcons, the Carolina Panthers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Saints still have Drew Brees, but he's old and they got rid of his best weapons. Their defense is terrible as well. 6 or 7 wins would be ideal for them. The Falcons have Matt Ryan,  Roddy White and Julio Jones, but they have no running game and they don't even try to run the ball and this is a team with another pretty bad defense. If Matt Ryan plays well and gets the ball to either White or Jones, they could outscore teams on their way to 8 wins, but 6 wins seems more likely. The Panthers do have Cam Newton and while he's inaccurate, he has a big arm and he's hard to tackle when he's in the open field. They have a so so running game led by DeAngelo Williams and they have upgraded at receiver with Kelvin Benjamin and rookie Devin Funchess. They do have a decent defense led by linebacker Luke Kuechly. They could win 9 games this year. The Buccaneers are still in rebuild mode and will be led by rookie QB Jameis Winston. Rookie QB's struggle and while he does have Vincent Jackson and the big receiver from Texas A&M, they have no run game and a god awful defense. 3 or 4 wins is the bar for the Bucs. The Panthers will win this division with only 9 wins this year.

The final NFC division, the NFC North should and will be won by the Green Bay Packers. The defense improved last season and will take another step in the right direction this season. They have the best QB in the league in Aaron Rodgers and he has weapons on offense like Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb. They also have a good running game led by Eddie Lacy. The Packers should win 12 games and the division easily. The Minnesota Vikings will be better. They get child abuser Adrian Peterson back and, while he hits little children, he's a good running back. But, he's a terrible person. Teddy Bridgewater looks like he's going to be good and if he can get some help from receivers the offense could look good. The defense is decent, but nothing to write home about. They could get to 9 wins this season. The Detroit Lions will continue to baffle me. Matthew Stafford is so inconsistent, but when you have a receiver like Calvin Johnson, he'll make you look good. They got a great running back in the draft in Ameer Abdullah. He'll immediately be better for them than Reggie Bush was. The defense lost Suh and Nick Fairley, so they'll take a step back. 8 or 9 wins seems like their destiny. The Chicago Bears round out the division and they're a total mess. They did hire John Fox, but he won't be able to fix the mess that is the Bears in one season. They have no defense, no receivers, a shitty QB in Jay Cutler and poor Matt Forte can only do so much. The Bears are like a worse version of the Chiefs. At least the Chiefs are competitive. The Bears will be lucky to get 5 wins this year.

So, the NFC playoff teams will be the Seahawks, the Packers, the Panthers and the Eagles, the four division winners. The two wild card teams will be, I'm going to go out on a big limb here, and pick the Rams and the Vikings. I even see the Vikings beating the Eagles in the first round and the Rams fighting, but losing late to the Panthers in the playoffs. The Vikings will see their season end at the hands of the Seahawks and the Panthers will get mercy killed by the Packers. This sets up a rematch of the NFC title game from last year, and the Packers will avenge their loss with a big win and advance to face the Colts in Super Bowl 50. 

Coming up next, Super Bowl and awards.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and co-host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The editor appreciates his hopes for the Vikings. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.